After every training camp practice I attend, I will try and give a small report to put in this thread. I went to the first practice, but I am going to skip that report and start from Day 2.

Twitter: @_Wooozy

Training Camp: Day 2

Offense

Today, the offense looked rather shaky. Although it is still early into training camp, there are a couple of concerns that stuck out to me. First of all, Sam Bradford looked questionable when faced with any type of pressure today. When lined up in 7 on 7's, Bradford showed the amazing ability that scouts and fans raved about when he came out of college. However, once they started going into 11 on 11's Bradford was faltering. First of all, his accuracy was below average when faced with pressure (especially inside by Brockers, Langford, and Conrath). He was getting happy feet and throwing the ball inconsistently. Also, his decision making when throwing the ball down the field was questionable. Darian Stewart picked a ball off down the field in double coverage and there were other occasions when Jenkins had a good beat on the ball. Another concern with Sam was the defensive line batting down the ball. Matt Conrath had a knockdown and Brockers tipped a ball I believe. Overall, being completely unbaised, Bradford had a below average day.

The offensive line also had some troubles today. Jason Smith & Barry Richardson both had false start penalties and got chewed out by offensive line coach Paul Boudreax. And the interior offensive line had some troubles pass blocking. However, Scott Wells didn't practice today and Quinn Ojinnaka is getting all the reps at LG for the first team. So, I don't expect the chemistry on the offensive line to be there yet. Still, Rodger Saffold had a nice day containing Robert Quinn to a degree.

At wide receiver, it was the Brian Quick show today. Although I was not too fond of the pick when it happened, Quick showed that he can hang with the big dogs today. His route running was still a work in progress as shown by the coaches scolding him a few times because he was getting too deep, but he is learning. Quick really impressed me today with his reliable hands, change of direction ability, and pure athleticism. He was running short curls, intermediate curls, 10-15 yard outs, gos, and deep post routes today. He looked very sharp when running the curls and outs, but he still needs work on the post route and running it with better technique (not rounding it off so much). Here are some things I tweeted about from Quick's day:

* Brian Quick and Trumaine Johnson had a jump ball right there. Johnson lost, but Quick couldn't make the catch. Bobbled it #RamsCamp
* Brian Quick is doing well today on short curls & has shown that his hands are very solid #RamsCamp
* Brian Quick with a TD pass from Clemens lined up on Tru Johnson. Just a go route, got nice separation #RamsCamp

Based on the other receivers I watched, Brandon Gibson had a solid day catching the football although he had a drop. Still, he showed great body control and made a really acrobatic reception over the middle. Speaking of that, the Rams are throwing over the middle way more than they seemed to do last year. Danny Amendola looked great, and lined up on Cortland Finnegan most practice. Steve Smith looks like he is at 100% showing incredible footwork and technique when doing many of the receiver drills. He also did a nice job in 1 on 1's with quickness. Greg Salas had another good day and even made some tough catches in traffic lined up against Janoris Jenkins. Salas lined up inside and outside. Chris Givens still has ways to go and it was evident today, although he has had flashes. He caught a touchdown pass early and showed off his speed, however, he is sloppy in some of the drills and doesn't have the same foot quickness as some of our other guys. More of a deep/speed guy than a quick change of direction slot receiver it seems.

One of the biggest surprises of the day was DeAngelo Peterson who actually caught the ball the best out of all the tight ends today. He is clearly the most athletic tight end on the field which makes me excited considering his hands are his main problem. Lance Kendricks dropped a ball today and it brought back bad memories, but he redeemed himself and had a nice day blocking and receiving after that. Mike McNeill is another tight end who stuck out.

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Defense

The defense was fantastic today. Up front, the defensive line dominated the offensive line especially on passing situations. Chris Long was his usual self, getting a bunch of pressure from the left side of the line. Jason Smith had some trouble containing him, but it was a good battle for the both of them. At the other end position, Quinn still has trouble locating the ball but he is great on passing downs. There have been a bunch of good battles between Saffold and Quinn throughout camp. Also, one thing to note on the d-line is that Matt Conrath is practing a whole bunch with the first team. Langford and Conrath have been rotating in and out in different situations. The rotation of Langford, Brockers, and Conrath is absolutely massive and makes me excited considering they did so well against our interior line. I love what Brockers did today with his hands and has shown improvement getting off blocks. On top of that, he is getting double and triple teamed a lot of the time. Other guys that had good practices are Cornell Banks, Eugene Sims, and Darell Scott.

At linebacker, there are both positives and negatives with some of our new players. On the down side, Aaron Brown looks extremely undersized and out of place as of right now. He is struggling at adjusting especially with strength and learning the game. He was out of place too much and did not show much in pass coverage. However, Sammy Brown and Justin Cole were two guys who had (underrated) good days. Brown is built like a linebacker and showed great speed off the edge and an improved knowledge in coverage. Justin Cole was always around the ball and was deciphering screen plays well. Also, he did a nice job stacking and shedding against bigger offensive linemen. Jo-Lonn Dunbar fit into the defense really well also and made some plays.

The secondary was the most fun to watch today. The BEST PLAYER on the field today was Janoris Jenkins, hands down. He always had tight coverage and has the physical tools to stick with receivers at this level. His ball skills could use a bit of work in terms of finishing an interception, but he does play the ball more than he plays the the receiver (if that makes sense). Here are some tweets from today:

* Jenkins is doing tremendous in these one on ones. Had perfect coverage on Quick , but Quick made a tough reception over the middle #RamsCamp
* Jenkins great coverage on Gibson on the go route #RamsCamp
* And then Jenkins made a nice play on the ball, read Bradfords eyes, almost had a pick 6 #RamsCamp

Cortland Finnegan spent most of the day covering in the slot against Danny Amendola and did a somewhat good job. Amendola got the best of him a couple of times, but Finnegan held his own as well. I loved watching his physicality in one on one drills. Trumaine Johnson practiced a lot with the 2nd/3rd team and made some nice plays in coverage, but he is going to need to tone down his physicality at this level. He is going to get called for a lot of pass interference penalties if he doesn't tone down his level of play. Josh Gordy and Jerome Murphy spent a lot of time on the 2nd unit and I did not see a lot from Kendric Burney which could mean something moving forward. At safety, Darian Stewart stood out with an interception, but I didn't watch them too closely.

Well now I'm really worried about Sam with what you said. From what I've heard from one of the ClanRam members during Day 1 of training camp was that he did a decent job but that was without practicing on the deep throws. Hope Fisher and Schotty can get the whimpering puppy out of Sam... _________________

Well now I'm really worried about Sam with what you said. From what I've heard from one of the ClanRam members during Day 1 of training camp was that he did a decent job but that was without practicing on the deep throws. Hope Fisher and Schotty can get the whimpering puppy out of Sam...

I will just say this, I wasn't that impressed with Bradford today. But it is still early and the chemistry just isn't there with all the new pieces on offensive and such. So it shouldn't be a huge concern early, but it should be monitored closely if you know what I mean.

bluesfreak74 wrote:

Great post man, enjoyed it.

Was reading on twitter today that Bradford had no time to throw at all today and the DL was collapsing the pocket so quick. I know it's way early in TC, but they need lots of work.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your reports. I'm hoping to get out there at least once, it's a nice drive though for me over here in IL.

Thanks man.

And yeah Bradford was getting pressured all day long by the interior line. Still, he didn't make any good throws under pressure and his decision making was pretty sub par. Like I said though, chemistry is key.

And what part of IL? I live in Edwardsville right now and don't mind the hour drive haha._________________

And yeah Bradford was getting pressured all day long by the interior line. Still, he didn't make any good throws under pressure and his decision making was pretty sub par. Like I said though, chemistry is key.

And what part of IL? I live in Edwardsville right now and don't mind the hour drive haha.

Yeah, those guy didn't mention that. what's your twitter handle?

Freeburg/Smithton just south of Belleville. I went once I think it was last year or the year before, it was about an hour or so I believe. Still going to try and make it out there once, just can't afford to drive back and forth all the time.

EDIT: Just saw your handle in your OP. Also, what'd you think of Pead so far form what you've seen? I read he's had a pretty good start and can cut on a dime._________________

El Ramster on this beaut!

Last edited by bluesfreak74 on Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:57 am; edited 1 time in total

And yeah Bradford was getting pressured all day long by the interior line. Still, he didn't make any good throws under pressure and his decision making was pretty sub par. Like I said though, chemistry is key.

And what part of IL? I live in Edwardsville right now and don't mind the hour drive haha.

Yeah, those guy didn't mention that. what's your twitter handle?

Freeburg/Smithton just south of Belleville. I went once I think it was last year or the year before, it was about an hour or so I believe. Still going to try and make it out there once, just can't afford to drive back and forth all the time.

Check the top of the first post for that.

And yeah, it can get a little bit tough on gas but I am a delivery driver so I'm used to it lol._________________

And yeah Bradford was getting pressured all day long by the interior line. Still, he didn't make any good throws under pressure and his decision making was pretty sub par. Like I said though, chemistry is key.

And what part of IL? I live in Edwardsville right now and don't mind the hour drive haha.

Yeah, those guy didn't mention that. what's your twitter handle?

Freeburg/Smithton just south of Belleville. I went once I think it was last year or the year before, it was about an hour or so I believe. Still going to try and make it out there once, just can't afford to drive back and forth all the time.

Check the top of the first post for that.

And yeah, it can get a little bit tough on gas but I am a delivery driver so I'm used to it lol.

Reading comprehension FTL. Just followed you too.

Same, been delivering for a little over a year, trying to get out. $$ is good, but wear and tear is terrible. If gas was the same as STL I would drive out there more often, but IL sucks. _________________

And yeah Bradford was getting pressured all day long by the interior line. Still, he didn't make any good throws under pressure and his decision making was pretty sub par. Like I said though, chemistry is key.

And what part of IL? I live in Edwardsville right now and don't mind the hour drive haha.

Yeah, those guy didn't mention that. what's your twitter handle?

Freeburg/Smithton just south of Belleville. I went once I think it was last year or the year before, it was about an hour or so I believe. Still going to try and make it out there once, just can't afford to drive back and forth all the time.

Check the top of the first post for that.

And yeah, it can get a little bit tough on gas but I am a delivery driver so I'm used to it lol.

Reading comprehension FTL. Just followed you too.

Same, been delivering for a little over a year, trying to get out. $$ is good, but wear and tear is terrible. If gas was the same as STL I would drive out there more often, but IL sucks.

Yeah the wear and tear is the only problem because I love the job. Perfect for college._________________

Thanks for the post, it was a really nice read...and slightly disturbing (the Sam Bradford part and the offensive line) Hopefully things will improve before the start of the season._________________Los Angeles Rams
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Can someone explain to me what is up with Scott Wells. I don't understand what surgery did he have. This O line is making me nervous. If the oline fails our team fails.

He had a standard Knee Scope. Its nothing major, but there is no reason to be rushing him back.

When an actual surgery is done, coaches dont like to put a timetable on that. He could be back Friday (doubtful), sometime Next week, or sometime after the Second preseason game. No one really knows, and he is just going to show on the field one day and be practicing.